Sunday, 19 August 2012

Scary crash on nasty bend near Tesco's.

On the evening of the 18th August 2012 i decided to go and have a
couple of hours fishing with my dad on the canal just below the market.

I had been there
about 40 minutes when I heard a tremendous racket and breaking plastic noises
coming from the back of me. When I looked back i could see a red scooter and
its driver skidding across the road and coming to a stop in the gutter.

I immediately got
up and ran across to the scene shouting to my dad "call an
ambulance". As I got to the driver, he stood up in a dazed state. I think
my dad noted this and did not call an ambulance after all, I asked the driver
are you ok? He had his helmet on and said yes I think so. He had ripped his
trousers, and the arm of his jumper. He had damage to his helmet where his head
had hit a very dangerous looking broken stump. I am sure that his helmet went a
long way to saving his life. I said "your helmet as saved you
mate", at which point he took his helmet off. He was a young lad, with an
L plate on the bike. He stated that he had only had the bike for two weeks and
that he thought he had took the corner too fast. By now he was in pain and
limping. I insisted that he look what damage was done to his leg. He rolled his
trouser up to reveal a nasty bruise and a cut. He could hardly walk and said
his foot was very painful. Again I made him remove his shoe and look, as shock
can make some people not realise the extent of their injuries. He looked like
he had a broken foot, and said so himself.

We stood his scooter up and he managed to start it. I asked if he
was ok or did he need to borrow a phone to call someone? He said he was ok. He
then said I don’t know what I will do as the scooter was his only transport to
work. I said mate you’re lucky to be alive, so thank your lucky stars and don't
worry about the bike! I pointed out the sharp wooden spike that his head had
hit. He then looked at the damage to his helmet.

The young lad rang
some family members who turned up after 15 minutes to escort him home.

That particular
bend on Silver Street, (which is where the road runs parallel with the canal)
has had numerous crashes on it over the years. In fact the reason there is a
sharp wooden stump which the guy hit, is because previous drivers had hit it.
Most of the wooden barrier is smashed or missing, and it’s about time the
council did something about it.

There are no
warning signs, and the road markings are almost invisible.